Ask Matty: Oilers will need nearly 60 points to make playoffs

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers looks to put a loose puck past Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche as Greg Zanon defends in the first period of a game at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo., on February 2, 2013.Photo by
Dustin Bradford

Q: Will 47-53 points get the Edmonton Oilers into the playoffs?

(Betty Hauser, Arizona)

A: In a word, no. Most people think it’ll take 57-60 points to make the playoffs in the Western Conference with all the shootouts (three-point games; two to the winner, one to the loser), which means the Oilers would have to get 10 points for every eight-game cycle in the 48-game season to get 60. They had nine points in the first eight games. I know in the 1994-95 lockout, also 48 games, the Dallas Stars had 42 points to finish eighth, but that was a fluke because the Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Winnipeg Jets and Los Angeles Kings were weak sisters. The New York Rangers had 47 to get the last playoff spot in the East. Again, there were no shootouts back then.

Q: Enjoyed your Larry Robinson article about wanting to be Montreal Canadiens coach. I just listened to NHL radio and Robinson was on saying that Marc Bergevin had contacted him to see if he wanted to be the defence coach with that job going to J.J. Daigneault.

(Percy Subbarao)

A: Thanks for the tip on Bergy and the defence job. Larry would never take that. It was head man or nothing in Montreal. He did the defence coach thing in New Jersey for Devils head man Peter DeBoer and if he was going to be an assistant or associate with defenceman responsibilities he was going to do it in San Jose, which is close to his daughter and grandkids in L.A.

Q: I didn’t see any mention of realignment in the new CBA. When will we be getting that. I want to see every team play a game in Edmonton?

(Peter Koziol)

A: I suspect we’ll get realignment next season, based on time zones, more than anything but the NHLPA will have to sign off on it. There would be four new groupings (divisions Gretzky, Howe, Orr and Lemieux for history sake. You would have a Mountain-Pacific grouping, a Central time zone grouping of teams in the West (likely eight in each grouping for 16 teams) and two groupings of seven teams each in the East.

Here’s where the NHLPA will have a problem. It would be easier to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference (four out of seven) than the Western Conference (four out of eight).

But if that hurdle is surmounted, we could see the Oilers in, for example, the Gretzky division with Calgary, Vancouver, L.A., Anaheim, San Jose, Phoenix and Colorado. The Jets would move from the Eastern conference to play in the Howe division (Central with two eastern time zones, Detroit/Columbus) with Chicago, Minnesota, St. Louis, Dallas, Nashville, Wpg, Red Wings and Blue Jackets).

In the Orr division we’d have Boston, Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Florida and Tampa. In the Lemieux, we’d have Pittsburgh, Philly, Rangers, Jersey, Islanders and Carolina.

The catch here is Detroit, for years, has been a good soldier playing in the West when they are getting hosed with their TV coverage because they’re often having games start at 9 p.m. or later in Detroit. They badly want to play in the East and have the support of many inside NHL headquarters.

Every team would play one another at least once a season, either home or away.

Q: Why don’t the Oilers trade for Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier? Then we would have two No. 1s and Devan Dubnyk wouldn’t have the sole pressure of being that guy.

(Brian Green)

A: It does make some sense to have two relatively young goalies pushing one another (survival of the fittest), so a Bernier trade has some merit, but I don’t think we’ll see it. I think Dubnyk is just fine with being The Guy. He’s not 21, he’s 26. He’s mature. There’s a better chance of Toronto trading for Bernier — the Kings need some offence, plus help on the blue-line with Matt Greene out (back surgery). But L.A. doesn’t seem in any hurry to move him even though Jonathan Quick will play about 80 per cent of the games.

If you really want to understand why the NDP-Green coalition stabbed B.C. taxpayers in the back by funnelling...

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